Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! That means it’s time to show some love and appreciation to our valentines. Sweet treats are a great way to show some appreciation, but I happen to think homemade treats are extra special! Today I want to show you how fun and easy these gum drops are to make. Get the kids involved with cutting out the shapes too. This set of heart shaped cookie cutters has a variety of sizes to choose from, but any small shaped cookie cutter will work!

Valentine Gum Drops

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsweetened Applesauce

2 1/4 cups Sugar

2 boxes (3 oz) Strawberry Jello

2 envelopes Unflavored Gelatin {like Knox}

Directions

Spray 9×13 baking pan with non-stick spray.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on the stove.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Boil for one minute.

Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until set.

Dust a cutting board with sugar.

Use a spatula to loosen sides and turn out onto cutting board.

Dust the top of the Jello with sugar.

Use heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out gum drops.

Roll edges in extra sugar and set onto wax paper for 1 hour to dry out slightly.

I recently made this salad dressing for an event we had to attend and it was amazing! It went over really well with everyone! This is a perfect recipe for winter since pomegranates are currently in season.

Here are a few quick facts about pomegranates:

Pomegranates are one of the healthier foods you can eat.

High in antioxidants, potassium, vitamin C, and fiber.

Pomegranates pack a nutritional punch that most foods can’t come close to!

There always seems to be the need for a last-minute gift around Christmas time. From that impromtu Saturday night dinner to the appy party on Sunday, there’s always a host to give a cute gift to! Check out these easy and inspiring last minute homemade Christmas gift ideas:

We love peanut butter cookies in this house. Any time of the year actually! Since it’s Christmas time and all, I thought I’d jazz up some ordinary cookies and turn them into Rudolph cookies! Cute right? They taste especially delicious too. In fact, I think Santa would love to find some of these Rudolph peanut butter cookies on his travels! Be sure to leave a plate full

Roll into ½-3/4" balls and place on cookie sheet several inches apart.

Sprinkle with sugar and gently make an indentation slightly off the center of each cookie.

Bake 12-14 minutes.

Place an M&M in the indentation of each cookie.

Insert 2 mini chocolate chips (pointy side down) above the M&M to be the eyes.

Insert 2 pretzel pieces to be the antlers. (If the antlers won't stick, place some chocolate chips in a sandwich bag and microwave 30 seconds and knead until soft. Clip the very tip of the corner and pipe onto cookie to act as glue.)

Now here’s a Christmas fudge recipe that will be great for gift giving! I think it would pair nicely with this Homemade Peppermint Bark!

I’m afraid I’m getting a reputation for only making easy things, but really, if you have to add extra things to your already full calendar, why spend a lot of time creating? It’s the thought that counts, right? Anyways, this recipe is so easy, it only calls for four ingredients. That, my friends, is how you impress on a budget and use minimal effort and time.

I happen to think that everything made in mini size is really just the best. If you spend any time on Pinterest, I’m sure you’ve read about or heard mention of things baked or served in mason jars. I’ve seen everything from pies, cheesecakes and even quick breads made in mason jars. The idea of having the perfect personal portion to pop into the oven is so awesome to me! That’s why I decided I needed to give this concept a try. I give you…Mini apple pie in jars:

Mini Apple Pie in Jars:

6 medium apples, peeled and sliced; I ended up cubing my a bit to make them fit better in my jars.

1 Cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

8 8oz. wide mouth mason jars

Pie Crust Ingredients – You will want to make (2) batches of the crust if making 8 mini pies. You will have some crust left over but it’s better to have more crust than not enough.

1 ½ Cups flour

¼ Cup milk

½ tsp salt

½ Cup vegetable oil

Mix all pie crust ingredients and roll out using flour and a rolling pin. You will want to cut the pieces to fit the jars. I actually used the lid ring to cut mine and then pieced them together in the jar. Easy.

Combine the dry ingredients: brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add in the apples and stir to coat them well.

Scoop the apple mixture into each pie jar.

Next, cut a few more pieces of pie crust using the lid ring again. Use a sharp paring knife to cut the piece into strips for your lattice top on the pies.

Cris-Cross the crust pieces and gently press down on the edges of the jar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

In no time at all, you’ll have a bunch of little pies ready to go into the oven for yourself or for hostess gifts even. These little pies can also be place in the freezer unbaked! All you have to do is create these pies in the jars then screw the lids on and then pop them into the freezer. Next time your sweet tooth strikes, simply take a pie out of the freezer and bake. These would also make a great quick dessert idea to have in your freezer for unexpected dinner guests!

Nothing beats a good plate of spaghetti and meat sauce. It’s a comfort food at it’s finest! Making a big pot of spaghetti sauce is also a great way to feed a crowd. Delicious and frugal! While this recipe for slow cooker spaghetti sauce calls for peppers, you could throw in any veggies that you’d like to use up. Such as a lone carrot or mushrooms. It’s really flexible.

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe could be made in a big pot, but I prefer the set it and forget it feature of the slow cooker. But, you’ll still want to cook up the garlic, onions, beef and sausage before you throw it into the slow cooker. I use this Cuisinart programmable slow cooker, but any slow cooker will do.